By Namgyal Kunga
New Delhi March 30: His Holiness the Dalai Lama today visited the India International Centre where a five day festival to thank India on the 50th year of Tibetans’ coming to India in exile is underway since March 26.
To express his gratitude to the Indian government and the people of India, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who crossed the Indian border on March 31, 1959, will pray at eight different places of worship in the Indian capital tomorrow. The 73 year old Tibetan leader will be joined by representatives from various religious faiths in the prayer for peace in India and the happiness of its people.
Meanwhile, His Eminence the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinlay Dorjee spoke at a lecture event on ‘world peace and youth’ yesterday. The young head of Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism expressed his appreciation to the Indian government for providing refuge to the Tibetans for fifty years.
The young Lama said that the Tibetans owe a great deal to India for being able to preserve the rich Tibetan culture and practice one’s own religion in India. The popularity of Tibetan Buddhism in the world, he said, was largely because of its strong base in India.
The India International Centre, the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) of the Central Tibetan Administration and Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi are jointly organising the festival.
